Day two commenced the same as day one with an 0730hrs start at Nautilus Watersports. We were ‘old-hands’ now and knew the drill. Nautilus Watersports offers a secure lock-up for your dive gear if you are doing multiple dives over several days and after rinsing our gear the day before we had taken advantage of this ‘free’ service. So after finding a staff member to ‘unsecure’ the secure lock-up we proceded to load the ‘Cowrie’ with our gear. While we were doing this, the company shuttle turned up after its run around the resorts to pick up the days customers. There were a couple of familiar faces from the day before, as well as a couple of new faces, giving a total of seven divers for the day.

Day Two

Dive Three − ‘Ollie’s Lolly’

It didn’t take long to load the ‘Cowrie’ and we were soon on our way, steaming out of Port Vila harbour into Mele Bay. After the now familiar safety and dive briefs, we were left to our own devices to fill in the half hour or so it was going to take to get to our first dive site. I elected to head up onto the roof to get some vitamin D and it wasn’t long before we were advised to get ‘suited and booted’ and prepare to enter the water.

Our first dive site of the day was named ‘Ollie’s Lolly’ which was a large reef that starts at 10 metres and heads down to a maximum depth of 25 metres. As we were a smaller group than the previous day we went as a single group with one of the staff leading and the rest of us following and another two staff members following behind. We initially dropped down onto the top of the reef at 10 metres and then followed a rift in the reef down gradually getting deeper until we were around the maximum depth. The first thing I noticed was the large expanses of dead coral. I found out later that a tropical cyclone had ripped through the area back in February which killed off most of the coral. It was amazing to see the new re-growth coming back.

It was during this dive that I finally ‘found Nemo’. This was the third island holiday I had been on in recent years and the first two (Rarotonga and Samoa), ‘Nemo’ was nowhere to be found. So I was rapped when our guide pointed out the small fish hiding in the anemones. Initially I didn’t recognise them as they were a brown colour not the orange that I was expecting, this was due to the loss of colour perception at depth. After seeing our first Clownfish they were a regular appearance on future dives and even when snorkling.

I wasn’t paying too much attention to navigation, relying on our guide to keep us on track but it wasn’t long before I noticed we had somehow made it back to the top of the reef and our guide was signaling us to head up to the 5 metre safety stop bar attached to the boat. While undertaking the safety stop an alarm on my dive computer went off and when I checked it I was surprised to find that 45 minutes had elapsed.

Dive Four − ‘Mele Reef’

Once back aboard we slipped the mooring and headed to our next dive site, Mele Reef. The transit time was taken up with the now familiar roll call, swapping tanks and a hot cuppa and cake. There was a bit of a delay when the boatman couldn’t find the right buoy to indicate the mooring, but this wasn’t a problem as it increased our surface interval, thereby giving us a longer bottom time for the next dive. Maybe a chartplotter would be a good investment.

The Mele Reef dive is described as an extensive reef that rises up in the middle of Mele Bay to around 8 metres from the surface. The plateau is host to a large vareity of reef life including batfish, clown triggerfish and white tip reef sharks. The verticle wall descends to at least 35 metres and has interesting gullies and alleys to investigate along the way. I would have to say the description is accurate although we didn’t see any white tip reef sharks on any of the dives we did in Vanuatu. I have come across them on dives in Samoa and Rarotonga and they are nothing to worry about when you do see them as they usually keep their distance. As with ‘Ollie’s Lolly’ there was more evidence of the effect of the February cyclone. Despite this there were still some stunning examples of fan coral to be seen.

On all the previous dives I had done on this trip, all the ‘items of interest’ had been pointed out by our guide, so I was over the moon when I noticed (I almost typed spotted) a moray eel peeking out from a crevice in the coral before anyone else had. I hadn’t seen one of these before and it didn’t seem to be perturbed by my presence. The markings are quite stunning and despite those razor sharp teeth they are still a beautiful fish.

As with all of the other dives we had done in Vanuatu, this one achieved a maximum depth of around 25 metres and was followed by a two stage safety stop regime. Once back aboard and all divers were accounted for we slipped the mooring and headed back to Port Vila. The ‘Cowrie’ isn’t the fastest vessel around and we had plenty of time to reflect on another great days diving before it was time to unload and rinse our gear.

Day Three

Dive Five − ‘Twin Bommies’

Nautilus Watersports do their two tank dives in the morning and their single dives in the afternoon, so our fifth and final dive of the trip started at a leisurely 1230hrs. When we turned up there was a group doing a ‘Discover Scuba’ course in the pool so we busied ourselves preparing our gear for the dive. The crew were putting a few sets of gear on board as well and as soon as we were ready, the ‘Discover Scuba’ course got out of the pool and straight onto the boat. The ‘Twin Bommies’ was not far from Port Vila harbour and our transit time was taken up with the now familiar safety and dive briefs as well as getting suited and booted. The site is described as featuring a sheer wall as well as two ‘bombora’ formations riddled with grottos with the depth ranging from 10 to 25 metres over the edge of the drop-off. Most species of tropical fish can be found at the site and they are comfortable with divers and not afraid of flash photography.

After dropping into the water we descended down the mooring line to the top of the reef at 10 metres. This was where the ‘Discover Scuba’ crew would spend their time but we headed over the side and made our way slowly down the sheer wall to the now familiar 25 metre mark. This provided an awesome feeling of freedom as in places we could not make out the bottom below us. This is where the true feeling of floating in space comes from and is something that I have not experienced often while diving as we made our way along the wall our guide pointed out items of interest such us some delicate soft corals and other marine life.

At one point my son got my attention and was pointing to something. I couldn’t work out where he was pointing until I just about swam into a Hawks Beak turtle feeding on something in the coral. The turtle was totally oblivious to us as he devoured its meal and we must have stayed and watched it for at least five minutes

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We soon ascended to the top of the reef again and made our way to the two Bommies that give the site its name. There certainly was a large variety of colourful fish and marine life around them and although I asked the guide what they all were when we were back on board, I can’t recall what they were.

All too soon the dive came to an end and we were making our way back to Port Vila harbour. On reflection, I would have to say that the variety of dive sites and marine life around Port Vila far exceeds that of any of the other islands that I have dived. The value for money was excellent and we barely scratched the surface of the diving opportunities in Port Vila itself let alone the rest of Vanuatu. I would also have to rate the safety systems and procedures used by Nautilus Watersports as the best I have experiences overseas and would thoroughly recommend the to anyone holidaying in Vanuatu.

By Mike Black

During a recent holiday to Vanuatu, I (along with my son and brother-in-law) took the

opportunity to do five dives with Nautilus Watersports in Port Vila. While most people who go to Vanuatu for a diving holiday target ‘Million Dollar Point’ and the ‘President Coolidge’ on Espiritu Santo as ‘must do’ dives, our budget (in both money and time) did not permit such a luxury. I am happy to say that there is plenty of excellent diving in and around Port Vila that will satisfy most eco-tourists.

Prior to departing for Vanuatu I had been in contact with Nautilus Watersports and after an exchange of emails over a period of time we agreed on a dive program of five dives over three consecutive days which allowed us to complete the dives and fulfil our no-fly penalty with plenty of time to spare. The total cost per person for the five dives equated to NZ$300.00, so at NZ$60.00 per dive it provided good value for money. Additional costs included $50.00 per person for the Air New Zealand additional sports baggage allowance and another NZ$35 for the obligatory polo shirt.

Day One

Dive One − ‘The Cathedral’

If you are staying at one of the resorts in or around Port Vila, Nautilus Watersports will pick you up, but as we were staying at a private holiday home some distance out of town we had to make our own way to the dive shop by 0730hrs (FGS − don’t they know we’re on holiday).

After filling out the usual paperwork (Liability Disclaimers and Medical Questionnaires) we headed down to the gear shed to grab a wetsuit and some lead. I had already told them that my brother-in-law was a notorious air hog, so they had a couple of 15 litre steel cylinders ready for him.

We then boarded the ‘Cowrie’ (the ugly-as-sin but very functional dive boat) along with seven other divers, four dive guides and the boat master who would be accompanying us for the morning. As we headed out to our first dive site, ‘The Cathedral’ about 40 minutes away we were given a safety brief and a dive brief. We were told to be ready to hit the water as soon as we arrived as there was no mooring available and it was likely there would be a bit of a swell and we would be dropped close to the exposed shoreline.

Despite the 27_C water temp, it was recommended we dive in 3mm full wetsuits (the guides were in 5mm but three of our group decided to dive just in their boardies). I made sure I was ready to go as soon as we got to the dive site and was one of the first into the water to cool off. The was quite a current running so by the time the rest of the divers had entered the waterwe had a bit of a surface swim to the descent point.

As soon as we started our descent I saw a ray swimming along the bottom which was 26 metres below us − awesome viz. Once we got to the bottom we met up with our assigned guides, however our group ended up getting reassigned as one of the others had difficulties during the descent and ‘called’ the dive, so our guide returned to the boat with her. By now the current that we had encountered on the surface had taken us off target so we had quite a swim along the bottom to the cavern entrance all the time sucking up our precious air supply. We entered the cavern in separate groups waiting for the previous groups to come out before we went in. Although it is called a cavern, it is better described as a rift and my immediate thought was how it reminded me of Sawcut Gorge back in Marlborough. The cavern was probably 30 to 40 metres deep (from front to back) and the sunlight filtered through from the surface creating a surreal effect, the photos do not do it justice.

All too soon our guide was motioning for us to exit the cavern and commence or ascent. As we made our way up the near vertical wall he pointed out items of interest including small coral growths and marine-life that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. We performed two safety stops, the first for 3 minutes at 5 to 6 metres and the second for 2 minutes at 2 to 3 metres, then made our way to the surface where we were picked up by the ‘Cowrie’.

Once back on-board the roll-call was taken and we headed off to our next dive site which was the wreck of the ‘Konanda’ about 25 minutes away.

Dive Two − ‘The Konanda’

The transit time was spent having a complimentary hot drink and piece of cake while

discussing the various sights we saw on the dive. Those who had decided not to take a wetsuit appreciated a hot drink as they were feeling the effects of the water temperature towards the end of their dive. As we neared the site, we prepared for the next dive, changing cylinders and getting ‘suited and booted. There was a slight delay once we arrived at the site as another dive outfit was tied up to the mooring.

The ‘Konanda’ was a 45 metre long inter-island trader which was damaged in a vicious cyclone. She was sunk in 1987 in 26 metres of water on a flat sandy bottom after being carefully prepared so that penetration dives of the wreck into the cabins and holds are safe. The mast, derricks and rigging reach up to within 10 metres of the surface. After entering the water we followed our guide down the mooring line which was attached to the top of the mast. We then followed the mast down to deck level and headed to the bow. After the girls had done the cliche ‘Titanic’ poses at the bow we head back to the forward hold and made our way through the holds to the accommodation area. We then checked out the bridge and made our way through the corridors and cabins to the back of the ship.

During the dive brief, our guide mentioned that we would meet on the top of the bridge and have a cup of coffee. True to his word, we made our way forward again and made our way to the top of the bridge and sure enough, there was a setting of cups, saucers, plates and a teapot waiting for us. As we were now nearing the end of our dive we headed back to the bottom of the mast and slowly ascended up it. Once again, during the ascent our guide pointed out marine-life that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

We then headed back to the surface completing the 5 and 2 metre safety stops.

Once back aboard, a roll call was held again and we each signed a dive-log proving that we had surfaced safely.

Note: The photgraphs were kindly provided by Nautilus Watersports and the article was written by Michael Black

To be continued next month…

We have had a great week with both the weather and sea conditions and we have had a couple of great families scuba diving with us, the Umbers family have introduced there 2 daughters Kelly and Gemma in to scuba diving and the girls have now both completed their Padi Openwater Course, we have also had the  Heap family diving  and James,  Stuart and Alyce have also completed there Padi Openwater Course, James went on to complete has his PADI Advance course while dad completes his PADI Wreck Specialty course, so well done to everyone that has completed the diving course while diving with us this week.

It has been a good month of diving with dugong sightings, hump back whales, cuttle fish, manta rays, Leapord sharks  and the list just goes on, the water temp is still around 25 to 26 degrees which is very nice and the days have been just perfect with blue skies and cobalt blue waters so don’t be a stranger we would love to see your smiling faces here.

Check out this link I am sure you will love it.  Diving with a Dugong

A couple of our guest were lucky enough to have this opportunity.  Malcolm was out with one of our research dives at the depth of 40mtrs on completing the research they had a bit of time to spare and were heading back to the surface when they can across this beautiful creature she/he was quite happy to just to hang around and have its photo taken.

After we got our open water ticket (see us celebrating in pic), we enjoyed a number of great dives including the Konada Wreck, where we discovered the loo, the wheelhouse and stopped for a cuppa tea on the wheelhouse roof.

We enjoyed our diving so much, we returned to Vanuatu the following year and went on more than 10 dives with our friends at Nautilus (with our instructors Lucy, Drew and the always helpful captain Freddy – see pics).

How can you beat two beautiful dives with 20 metre + visibility with homemade cakes in between (see pic of instructor Lucy and friend below).

Some of the highlights of our dives include: scaling the wall and going under the staghorn at Twin Bommies; the phenomenal wrecks of Semle Federsen, Star of Russia and Konanda; and the amazing viz and colours of the tropical reefs and sea life.
We’ve already booked our third trip in less than 2 years and our mission this trip is to do a night dive to see the turtles!

Soon after arriving in Port Vila we made our way down to Nautilus Watersports, being keen divers from Sydney and having just dived the Coolidge we wanted to see some reefs, we found the staff very helpful and were able to do all the dives that we requested including the Tasman a plane wreck and two other wrecks as well, the reefs were just amazing with heaps of fish and other critters.

After doing the Tasman plane wreck dive we decided to snorkel back to the dive shop, on the way we saw a seahorse and a really strange looking worm on the wall just in front of the jetty of the dive shop. I have put together some photo’s to view as this is a photographers paradise. With so much to see it’s great to know that the staff are safety conscious and very knowledgeable of the local area.

Regards Grant and Suzi (Sydney, Australia – 30th Dec 2008)

The other night, a number of us went for a dive at the Twin Bommies.

Twin Bommies is an excellent dive site for both advanced and novice divers. The mooring line leads divers to an insensitive bottom where they can adjust their buoyancy and acclimate to their surroundings. Novices will enjoy circling the Bommies that teem with diverse aquatic life. There is always a good chance of finding a cuttlefish or a lion fish hiding near the Bommies, and the clown fish can always be seen nearby.

Experienced divers have the option of following the wall across form the Bommies. Table coral, nudiebranchs, clown fish, and lots of other interesting stuff can be seen along the wall.

I’ve done a number of dives at this site, and have become familiar with the various points of interest here. I was excited to do a night dive (it had been too long since my last), but I had expected to see essentially the same site, just darker. Generally I’m not happy to be wrong, but I was pleased to be wrong about this dive.

We arrived at Bommies just as the sun was beginning to set. The full moon hung low in the sky, and was clearly visible before the sun had finished setting. These were perfect conditions for a night dive; full moon, calm waters, and excellent visibility.

My buddies for this dive (Gemma and Josh) and I geared up and splashed down. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as we made our descent. Our first destination would be the wall. This was going to be interesting; I was breaking in a brand new torch and I was going to try to take photos while I juggled the light back and forth in my hands.

The clown fish were just bedding down for the night, nestled into their anemone when came upon them. They seemed a bit sleepy and a tad bit surprised to be entertaining guests after dark.

Feather stars; they almost look like alien creatures that are slowly and patiently invading the Earth, ocean first. It was great to watch them curl up and hide as I shined my torch on them. I wasn’t really able to light the shot, line it up, and take it very quickly, so it was mostly closed by the time I snapped this.

Once we’d finished up at the wall, it was on to the Bommies.

The Spanish dancers were out in abundance tonight. I was very happy for the chance to snap a few photos to show everyone back home, as we only have American dancers to photograph.

As we puttered around the Bommies, I could see Gemma make a sharp turn off in a different direction. She had spotted one of the turtles that sleeps near the Bommies. It’s always amazing seeing a turtle, no matter how many times you’ve spotted one before. I’m always taken with their grace underwater, especially considering their awkward shape. This guy was much too far for me to hope to photograph, so I had to content myself with following (really, trying to keep up with)him.

At this point I was starting to run a bit low on air, so I signaled my buddies that I’d be heading back to the surface. Just as I turned away to make my way closer to the mooring line, I saw this parrot fish nestled in for the night.

Awesome dive.

Greg: Padi Instructor @ Nautilus

Home: U.S.A

www.Nautilus.com.vu

What can we say; the weather and water conditions have been just spectacular, blue skies and turquoise waters, with the water temperature creeping up to 28+ degrees and the vis being around 15 to 20 mtrs what more could you ask for. The Semle as always was awesome with vis of 35 to 40 mtrs. With the conditions being so great this week we have ventured out to the Cathedral twice and were visited buy a large school of Maori Wrasse, with great Grand Dad leading the group.

Lots of fun also had on board Cowrie with dive enjoying the surface interval jumping of the top of the dive boat, great photo take by Steve.

We would like to congratulate Ali for completing his PADI Advanced course and also Pontus and Bill for completing their Padi Open Water Course. We would also like to thank Cath & Grant who have been back for their 3^rd trip this year and to Rob & Judy for their 2^nd trip with both couples completing in excess of 20 dives.

Happy Diving.

www.nautilus.com.vu

Even though we have had rain most of the week the visibility has been great with 30+ meters, water temperature is starting to creep, sitting around 26 to 27 degrees.

The marine life has been in abundance, Cuttlefish, Turtles and also a sighting of Dorothy our friendly Dugong yesterday and how lucky were the dives, all were Discover Scuba Dives of the P & O Cruise boat in port for the day, it really is being in the right please at the right time.

We would like to thank Sue and Tony for coming back and diving with us again this year and for the mammoth amount of dives they completed.

Come on over to Nautilus Watersports for a Great Vanuatu Diving Experience

Nautilus Watersports. Port Vila. Vanuatu

diving@vanuatu.com.vu

Saturday 9 August

We’ve had a bit of a “Wreck Special” going on over the last few days and done some superb dives on all our wrecks ! After a great dive on the Semle Federsen, eight Devil Rays cruised with the group and joined them in the shallows. Konanda Wreck, (the little boat) had everyone gasping with the 20m+ visibility (a rarity) and as usual the Star of Russia was up to scratch with a large shoal of Trevally and Big Mouth Mackerel. BUT .. you always should leave the best till last … Wednesday morning after diving the Tasman, the group were chilling out on Cowrie and chilling out on the surface with them were 3 dugongs. Our skipper Freddie reckons that the biggest one must have been almost 4m long and only about 1m away from the boat !!

Night dive on Tuesday at Twin Bommies this little batfish was hanging off the wall at 20m – what a stunner, and as always we all saw the sleeping Green & Hawksbill Turtles ! Thanks to all divers this week – but especially Adam, Sara, David & Paula – we’ve had lots of fun with you guys this week, hope to see you all again.

Another busy week for Open Water courses – well done to all the guys that completed – Vincent, Zeak, Brent, Kirsty, Alexis and Erin. Congrats to Duane who has also managed to fit in an Advanced course before setting sail to Fiji.

www.nautilus.com.vu

Diving@vanuatu.com.vu